Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide for Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred (Season 6)
Last update: 11/21/2024
DIablo 4 Builds

General Notes
General Notes for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide in Vessel of Hatred
Note: This leveling guide is optimized for Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred (Season 6).
Whirlwind has always been one of the most popular abilities in the Diablo series, and it is also a strong choice in Vessel of Hatred. This Whirlwind Barbarian may not be the fastest build in the early leveling phase, but becomes extremely strong as soon as you add Dust Devils into the mix. Nevertheless, you can play him from level 1 without any significant problems.
This build is great against large groups of monsters, as you generate Rage for every monster you hit. Bosses can take a little longer,but with Dust Devils, even they are no longer a problem.
Until when is this build playable? This level guide performs well for a very long time, as Dust Devils scale very well into the endgame. Nevertheless, at higher Torment difficulties it is advisable to switch to my endgame version, which then specializes completely in Dust Devils.
Playstyle
Playstyle for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Use Leap as soon as you see a group of monsters. Make sure you hit at least one enemy with it to generate Rage. Against small groups, you can use Whirlwind directly until everything is dead. If you run out of Rage, you can use Battle Cry while whirling.
Against elite monsters, you start the fight with Rupture and War Cry before finishing them off with Whirlwind. Once you have used Rupture, your Whirlwind will make all opponents vulnerable for a few seconds. It is therefore advisable to keep Whirlwind going for as long as possible. As already mentioned, Whirlwind is not canceled by War Cry and Battle Cry.
It is much more difficult to generate enough Rage against bosses and make them vulnerable. Both problems are solved by Ground Stomp. You can also use Ground Stomp in any other situation if you run out of Rage. The same applies to Leap, which generates Rage when at least one opponent is hit.
You have to manually assign different weapons to your abilities, as you are playing with a Walking Arsenal:
- Whirlwind: 1H Weapons
- Leap: 2H Bludgeoning Weapon
- Rupture: 2H Slashing Weapon
As soon as you play with Dust Devils, you should make sure to stand right on top of bosses or elite opponents before summoning them. In most situations, you will deal more damage with this method.
Skills
Skills for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Note: Level up all your active skills first and work your way down to your Key Passive as quickly as possible. If you are missing skill points to progress on your way through the skill tree, you can invest them in some passive skills. As soon as you have leveled up all active abilities and your Key Passive Ability, continue with the missing passive skills.
Skill tree notes:
- If you no longer have Rage problems and have the Aspect of Fierce Winds, you can replace Ground Stomp with Challenging Shout.
- Überfallkommando: Du willst dich während des Wirbelwinds dauerhaft heilen und nicht auf Heiltränke angewiesen sein. Daher sind Heilungsquellen aus passiven Fertigkeiten sehr wichtig.
- You want to heal yourself permanently during your Whirlwind and not be dependent on healing potions. Healing sources from passive skills like Raid Leader are therefore very important.
Specialization
Specialization for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Two-Handed Axe Expertise
X% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies.
The Two-Handed Axe Expertise is a particularly good Weapon Technique for this build because it multiplies your damage against vulnerable enemies.
Aspects
Aspects for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Items & Affixes
Items & Affixes for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
General tips about your Gear
- Armor: You need a maximum of 1,000 armor. Anything above that is useless and has no effect. If you haven't reached your armor cap yet, adjust your equipment, gems and paragon talents accordingly.
- Resistances: You need at least 70% to all resistances. If you have not yet reached these values, adjust your equipment, gems and paragon talents accordingly.
- Affixes: Each item type has different properties (affixes) that are useful for this build. Some of these are mandatory, others are optional. Please pay attention to the following symbols:
Helmet
- Cooldown Reduction
- Strength
- Life
- Rage per Second
- Armor as required
- Resistances as required
- Relentless Berserker's Aspect
Chest Armor
- Life
- Strength
- Rage per Second
- Armor as required
- Resistances as required
- Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind
Gloves
- Ranks to Whirlwind
- Ranks to Core Skills
- Critical Hit Chance
- Attack Speed
- Strength
- Life
- Aspect of Elements
Pants
- Life
- Strength
- Armor as required
- Resistances as required
- Wildbolt Aspect
Boots
- Ranks to Leap
- Ranks to Brawling Skills
- Movement Speed
- Strength
- Life
- Rage per Second
- Armor as required
- Resistances as required
- Ghostwalker Aspect
Amulet
- Strength
- Ranks to Pit Fighter
- Ranks to Counteroffensive
- Cooldown Reduction
- Critical Hit Chance
- Attack Speed
- Movement Speed
- Devilish Aspect
Rings
- Critical Hit Chance
- Strength
- Life
- Attack Speed
- Bold Chieftain's Aspect
- Aspect of Vocalized Empowerment
1H Sword
- Strength
- Life
- Critical Hit Damage
- Aspect of the Dire Whirlwind
1H Mace
- Strength
- Life
- Critical Hit Damage
- Aspect of Limitless Rage
Note: You need a One-Handed Mace to benefit from your passive skill Wallop. You also must assign Whirlwind to the one-handed weapons.
2H Slashing Weapon
- Strength
- Life
- Critical Hit Damage
- Aspect of Fierce Winds
2H Bludgeoning Weapon
- Strength
- Life
- Critical Hit Damage
- Dust Devil's Aspect
Runewords
Runewords for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Note: If you are missing the required Runes, you can use Gemstones in the meantime.
1st Runeword (2H Weapon)
Yul
Gain: 50 Offering
Cast a Skill with a Cooldown.
Lum
Required: 5 Offering
Cooldown: 1 Second
Restore X Primary Resource. (Overflow: Increased Resource Restored)
2nd Runeword (2H Weapon)
Bac
Gain: 10 Offering
Travel X meters.
Gar
Required: 25 Offering
Cooldown: 1 Second
Gain X% Critical Strike Chance for X seconds, up to X%. (Overflow: Gain Multiple Stacks)
Note: Even without Rage issues, the Lum Rune makes sense, as you have two legendary aspects that benefit from Rage generation.
Gemstones
Gemstones for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
WeaponEmerald
Weapons: Critical Strike Damage
Armor: Dexterity
Jewelry: Poison Resistance
ArmorRuby
Weapons: Overpower Damage
Armor: Strength
Jewelry: Fire Resistance
JewelryGems and Skulls
You'll need at least 70% to all resistances. If you haven't reached those numbers yet, change your gems accordingly. If you have too many resistances on your items, you can also use skulls, but you shouldn't exceed the armor cap of 1,000.
Paragon Board
Paragon Board for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Important notice:
- Glyph Radius: To increase the radius of your Glyphs, you have to level them in the Pit. The starting radius is 3 boxes. At level 15, it increases to 4 boxes. At level 45, the radius is 5 boxes.
- Skill Order: Start with the ESSENTIAL LAYOUT and rebuild it COMPLETELY to quickly access all the important Nodes and Glyphs. Only then switch to the FINAL LAYOUT and add the missing Nodes.
Mercenaries
Mercenaries for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Varyana
Massacre
You and Varyana stack Massacre together on kills. Certain stack thresholds grant Movement Speed. Massacre resets after X seconds of not killing an enemy.
Cleave
Varyana swings two axes in an arc in front of her, dealing X% Physical damage and X% Bleeding damage over X seconds.
Selecting a Mercenary Core Skill alters their wielded Weapon and Basic Attack.
Weapon: Dual Axes
Basic Attack: Double Strike
Varyana slashes enemies with dual axes, dealing X% Physical damage. She has a X% chance to also deal X% Bleeding damage over X seconds.
Hysteria
You gain X% Attack Speed for X seconds whenever Varyana damages an enemy, up to X%.
Recklessness
Varyana's Cleave inflicts Vulnerable on enemies for X seconds.
Shockwave
Varyana slams the ground for a brutal shockwave in front of her, dealing X% Physical damage and Knocking Down enemies for X seconds.
Selecting a Mercenary Core Skill alters their wielded Weapon and Basic Attack.
Weapon: Two-Handed Mace
Basic Attack: Heavy Strike
Varyana batters enemies with a mace, dealing X% Physical damage with X% increased Critical Strike Chance.
Crushing Force
When Varyana deals damage to an enemy, she has a X% chance to Knock them Down for X seconds.
Reprisal
If you become Crowd Controlled, Varyana leaps towards the enemy that inflicted it, dealing X% Physical damage and Knocking Down surrounding enemies for X seconds on impact. This can only occur once every X seconds.
Bloodthirst
Varyana enters Bloodthirst, gaining X% Attack Speed, X% Movement Speed, and Unstoppable for X seconds. Varyana's Bloodthirst grants X% Attack Speed to you for the same duration.
Intimidated
While Varyana has Bloodthirst, enemies around her deal X% reduced damage.
Bloodlust
Varyana's Bloodthirst further increases your Attack Speed by X%.
Whirlwind
Varyana spins violently in a line, repeatedly dealing X% Physical damage and X% Bleeding damage over X seconds.
No Escape
Varyana's Whirlwind Pulls In enemies every X seconds and gains X% Size.
Taste of Flesh
When you or Varyana deal direct damage to an enemy inflicted with any of her Bleeding effects, you Heal for X% of your Maximum Life.
Earth Breaker
Varyana crushes the ground with her mace, leaving a tremor that deals X% Physical damage over X seconds and Knocks enemies Down repeatedly.
Rampage
You deal X% increased damage to enemies afflicted by any of Varyana's Crowd Control effects.
Dismembering
Enemies damaged by Varyana's Earth Breaker are left exposed, causing your next hit against them within X seconds to be a guaranteed Overpower. This may only occur on the same target once every X seconds.
Ancient Harpoons
Varyana launches three harpoons ahead of her, piercing enemies for X% Physical damage. She then rips them back, Pulling In and Stunning enemies for X seconds.
Annihilator
Varyana's Ancient Harpoons additionally Slow enemies by X% for X seconds. During this time, you gain X% Lucky Hit Chance against those targets.
Iron Grip
Varyana's Ancient Harpoons travel X% farther and reduce enemies' Impairment Resistance by X% for X seconds.
Raheir
Reinforcement
Crater
Trigger
Whirlwind
Video Showcase
Video Showcase for the Whirlwind Barbarian Leveling Guide
Changelog
- 11/21/24 – Final Paragon-Boards added
- 10/12/24 – Fixed a mistake in tempering recipes
- 10/02/24 – Optimized for Vessel of Hatred (Season 6)